Murders in the Night
by gaaleex
Summary: When the students of Konoha are slowly getting killed off one by one, it's up to Tsunade and Kakashi to solve what the heck is going on. The killer, meanwhile, smiles while their friends are dying, because they're saving them from themselves...
1. The Killing

**Murders in the Night**

** by gaaleex**

**Chapter One: The Killing**

The feeling that someone was following Ino Yamanaka haunted her all the way home. It was an extremely hot night. She was coming back from a mission on her own, from the Sand, where she was discussing the connections that they shared, ensuring they were still strong. It had gone well and the journey had started off with the blonde in a great mood. She couldn't wait to get back to Tsunade and report the good news. It was as she about a hundred metres from the front gate of Konoha when she got this feeling.

A scatter in the bushes stopped Ino in her tracks. She gazed around, nerves creeping their way up her shivering spine. Frowning, she stood her ground, straightening up. She was a Ninja, not some helpless civilian. She could fight.

"Who's there?" Ino called, trying not to let her voice shake. "Are you some sort of coward, not showing your face?"

The sound of shrill laughter reached Ino's ears. She thought she recognised it. The voice. Relief flooded her body, but so did anger. This was all a joke? She could kill them!

"God, you really made me think that you were an enemy-nin," Ino laughed, turning around to face her friend. "I could bloody kill you. I was actually getting scared. Stupid, right? I know. But what were you thinking? You knew I was on my own! I can fight a battle but there are many people better than me. You know that. I mean, I might have a chance if I used my mind transfer technique but people dodge that so easily nowadays, and -"

Her friend licked the kunai in their hand, then slashed a line across their wrist. Ino gasped. "What are you doing?" She asked, then noticed the expression in her friend's eyes. They were dark, and evil, and cruel. This was not a good situation. Perhaps Ino had something to fear after all.

"This isn't funny...joke's over, okay?" She frowned, stepping backwards and touching the back pocket in her dress where she kept her own kunai.

"No...no, this isn't a joke." Her friend smiled then, a smile that didn't reach their eyes. "You are not a joke." They stared at her outfit, her flat pale stomach on show, the clothes emphasising her skinny figure. "Watch this, Ino." They whispered. "Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes."

The friend lit a match, and was behind Ino in an instant. The match fell into her hair, all of the products used in it making her hair set alight very fast. The blonde screeched. "What the hell! Oh my God! Help me!" She ran over to some grass and dropped to the ground and rolled around, trying to put it out. Ino's friend lit another match and dropped it into the dry grass Ino was lying in. It was a blaze instantly, scorching over her body and burning her skin. Ino screamed, and screamed, coughing, choking. Meanwhile, her friend stood watching her, arms folded, scowling. Ino deserved this, they thought.

When her screams stopped, she was dead. The killer put out the rest of the fire, staring at the blackened grass around the blackened body. All flesh is grass.

Someone would come across Ino's body eventually; then the fun would begin.

_xxx_

Ten Ten yawned as she sloped lazily up the path. Her and Neji were picking some of Lee's favourite flowers for his birthday. He always liked simple gestures like these. They were just up the path from the gate, on the grass at the sides of the earth. Neji walked slightly ahead, marching forcefully. This was exercise for him. He had already gotten Lee some even heavier weights, and was going to challenge him to a sparring match. He may as well make this training too. Neji turned on his Byakugan, wanting to count Blackbirds, but instead, about a hundred or so metres away, saw the body of someone lying on the ground.

"What is it?" Ten Ten blinked, sensing Neji's mood instantly. She ran to catch up with him as he suddenly broke into a run. "Oh...!" She cried out as the body came into view.

Neji was already kneeling beside her, touching the temple. "They're dead." He stated, seeming numb from shock. "Someone has set fire to this person."

The brunette's eyes widened. A hand flew to her mouth and she crouched next to her comrade. "Who could have done this? Why didn't they defend themself? When did this happen? How long have they been out here? Who are they? Neji, we need to go tell someone -"

"Calm down, Ten Ten!" Her tone was getting hysterical, the Hyuuga placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go. We need to tell Tsunade immediately."

"And leave them here?" Ten Ten appealed, tears glistening in her eyes. This was all too much. She'd just wanted to pick flowers. "What if we hadn't come here to get flowers for Lee? Would they have been out in the cold...all night?"

"They're dead, Ten Ten. They won't feel the cold." Neji sighed, but he scooped the dead person in his arms, taking care not to damage the area around them too much. Most of the grass was burned to a crisp. When Ten Ten walked on ahead, Neji inhaled the scent of the body. It was disgusting, melting flesh. Then he started walking too.

The body was buried immediately, just two days later after a study was done on their body and the area they was killed. It was identified as Ino. All of her friends and family were present, most were crying. Some might say the killer was crying most of all. Not that they'd know it was the killer, of course. They just thought it was a distraught friend of the deceased.

_xxx_

Tsunade addressed the crowd solemnly after the hastily arranged funeral was over. "From my ANBU doing some scouring around the area, and looking at Ino's...at Ino, it is clear that she was only dead an hour or two before she was found by Ten Ten and Neji. It must have been done by someone from Konoha. Someone Ino trusted, because there is no sign of struggle, unless the fire covered that up. Matches were used, not a technique. Someone who was her friend, someone she trusted must have done this. Her father was on a mission, which eliminates family." Inoichi growled at this, and stamped his foot on the grass. He was furious with whoever killed his daughter.

Sakura glanced around at her friends. "Does she mean what I think? Is she accusing...us?"

By 'us' the pink haired Kunoichi meant herself, Naruto, Ten Ten, Neji, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Choji, Shikamaru and Sai. Ino's friends. She didn't have any other. It was this group together, the same generation, and everyone knew it.

"Granny, you can't be serious." Naruto whispered, staring her straight in the eyes. "None of us would ever do this."

Tsunade eyed him straight back, unabashed. "Why would Ino allow herself to be killed so easily? It's easier for a friend to have the trust of someone, no? Maybe the friend reacted too fast for Ino to do anything." Here, Tsunade glanced at Lee, then Sai. "Or trapped her so she couldn't move, figured something out cleverly...?" She looked at Shikamaru. "Just used friendship, perhaps rivalry?" Choji, Sakura. "It could have been any of you. None of you were on a mission at the time."

Kiba snarled. Akamaru whined. "Tsunade, how dare you accuse us of this!" He shouted, seething. "I'm not a murderer. None of us are."

"On the contrary, Kiba. It was one of you. Maybe you. Who knows? I will be questioning each of you separately over the course of the next few days. Expect to hear from me." She stalked off then, without turning back, and the crowd wandered away. Inoichi remained, and clenched his fist at them all.

"When I find out who killed my daughter," he hissed. "I will kill you in your sleep. I can never forgive you."

Then he, too, marched away.

The group was left. Naruto seemed in shock. He ran a hand through his hair. "None of you could do this," he stated.

Shino shook his head. "This is...unbelievable. I agree with you, Naruto."

Everyone agreed. No one could have done this. Hinata was crying. Ten Ten, tears falling from her eyes, placed an arm around her. Kiba punched a tree next to him and scowled. Neji stood, numb and silent. Sai was knelt down, staring intently at Ino's grave. A flutter of breeze picked up some leaves and they blew past the damaged group. The group with one less person than there was a few days ago.

The killer smiled in their mind.

**Author's Note: _I know, I know! Sorry everyone, I changed this story quite a bit. It's not really that obvious at the moment, but you'll see why I changed it later. I had a shining idea, thanks to a reviewer asking me what the killer's motive was and such. Now I have a better idea. Feel free to review this chapter again, though it's only the beginning that has changed really. xD Thanks!  
_**


	2. The Questioning

**Chapter Two: The Questioning**

A wind chime sounded as the fluttering of a warm wind sifted through Sakura's window. It was eight in the morning, but the Kunoichi had to get up early to talk to Naruto and Sai. They were meeting at nine to discuss the events of Ino's murder. Sakura pulled herself from the comfy cocoon of covers in her bed and stood up blearily, head rush swimming through her. When she recovered from getting up too fast, she walked across her room and closed the window. The sound of the wind chime, while beautiful, was rather persistent and she'd rather not hear it non-stop. After a refreshing shower, Sakura tidied her hair and got dressed. She was now ready for the day, and forced herself to smile in the mirror.

Ino was just seventeen years old, and she'd been killed. That was the thought running through Sakura's mind. Killed by one of them. Tsunade suspected everyone. No one could be ruled out. It was unbelievable. Sakura stomped down the path after slamming her door shut, looking straight ahead to see Sai was twenty minutes early. Naruto was bound to be on time, but for now she would talk to the other member of Team Seven.

"Good morning, Sakura," Sai smiled. It was his fake smile, his eyes closed and mouth turned up slightly at the edges. "Did you sleep well?"

Sakura scowled. "Well, Sai?" She echoed. "No. I had nightmares about being the one killed next."

"What makes you think there will be a second killing?" Sai asked, dropping the smile and staring at Sakura intently with a serious expression on his pale face.

The pink-haired girl blinked, taken aback by Sai's comment. Was he insinuating...? "Not you, too, Sai." Sakura murmured. "It's bad enough my own Sensei accuses me, but my team mate? How do I know it wasn't you that killed her?"

Sai sat down on the wall behind him. "It was a team mate that killed Ino." He muttered, stating the obvious. "I was just curious as to why you had nightmares about a second killing." He shook his head as Sakura opened her mouth, and took out a scroll. He scribbled something on it, then tucked it in his pocket.

Naruto appeared then, early too, obviously anxious to get their conversation over and done with. His hair was completely messed up, like he'd been tossing and turning all night and hadn't thought to tidy it this morning. His blue eyes were troubled and he stood between Sai and Sakura with his arms folded. The sky above the three was bright; sapphire with one large white cloud that covered the sun momentarily. A shadow crossed the team; no one spoke for a few minutes. Then Naruto cleared his throat.

"What were you two discussing before I came?" He wondered, joining Sai on the wall and chewing his lip. "I don't want to believe that someone could do this, but..." He took a deep breath. "I trust especially that you two have nothing to do with this."

"That makes one of you," Sakura murmured darkly, casting a glance at Sai, who remained composed. "Thank you, Naruto." She sighed. "I trust you too. If only there were some way of knowing, but how can we? No one hated Ino."

"Weren't the two of you rivals?" Sai spoke up, suddenly, a tiny frown itching onto his face. "Didn't you hate Ino, Sakura?"

"Whose side are you on, Sai?" Sakura snapped, anger boiling up inside of her. "I did not hate Ino. We were childhood rivals, like Naruto and Sasuke..." She could have bitten her tongue out saying that. It was well known Naruto had killed Sasuke after his obsession with revenge had gotten too far. "I am – was – friends with her. I was helping her to become a medical ninja!"

Exasperated, Sakura pointed a finger at Sai. "This is too much. If you can't trust me, Sai, then I cannot trust you. Isn't the guilty always the one who accuses first? Naruto," she turned to the blond. "I'm leaving. Tsunade told me to come to her today in the morning anyway. I guess I'll go a little early."

Naruto and Sai were left to watch as Sakura stomped away, heading in the direction of the Hokage's building. The breeze had died down and the air was humid and sticky. Naruto tugged at his clothes uncomfortably. The atmosphere could be cut with a knife at this very moment. He glared at Sai, who was still looking on at Sakura. "How could you accuse her, Sai?" Naruto cried, desperate to defend his best friend. "I've known her for so long, she would never do this."

"And what about you, Naruto?" Sai's tone was deadly solemn. He jumped off of the wall, and put a hand to his mouth. "Where were you when Ino was killed?" Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Team Seven were broken. Naruto walked away in the opposite direction of Sakura. He had to get some ramen to calm down.

_xxx_

Tsunade sipped her bottle of Sake dutifully. She was just about to start her questioning to Sakura about the murder of Ino Yamanaka. The door knocked and she grunted to allow the person in. It was Sakura, earlier than Tsunade had expected, and looking slightly angry. Tsunade leaned forward propping her head on her elbows on the wooden desk. She nodded her head to indicate Sakura could sit down then exhaled quickly. This was going to be difficult. Especially when got to the more lively characters of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai. It was hard to imagine all of them committing such an atrocity, but the fact one of them had done was almost too much to bear. One of these innocent, happy, teenagers...was a cold blooded killer? And not just any killer, but a killer of a childhood friend and comrade?

"I know I am early, Tsunade, but I had a conversation with Sai that did not go down too well." Sakura explained, running a hand through her hair, and tapping her feet anxiously on the floor.

"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "And why was that?"

"Why did it not go down too well?" Sakura clarified, not wanting to misunderstand. "Well, it sounded like Sai was accusing _me_ of Ino's death."

Tsunade leaned back and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she watched Sakura's expression as she asked, "And why would he do that?"

Sakura frowned. "Because it's utter nonsense! I would never kill my friend. Ino and I have been through such a lot. Sai said because we were rivals I had reason to kill her as I used to hate her, but I never truly hated her, it was all for show, for fun, even..." She knew she wasn't making a lot of sense. "In my opinion, Sai seemed a little too calm about all of this. I know at the funeral he was upset, everyone was, but now, just a day later, he seems fine."

"Are you implying Sai had something to do with the murder of Ino?" Tsunade prompted, taking another sip from her bottle. It was half past nine in the morning but she didn't care. The recent events had taken a toll on her and one bottle wouldn't get her drunk so it was fine. Even two wouldn't make her unbalanced. "Sakura?" The Hokage persisted impatiently, after not getting an answer from her student straight away. "Are you saying Sai is to blame? He's the killer?"

There was another pause. Sakura contemplated what Tsunade was asking her. Did Sai seem the most guilty out of her friends? She would have to say yes. "Yes, Tsunade. I am."

"Okay." The Hokage responded, quietly. "Where were you on the night of Ino's murder? Was anyone with you? I want a fully detailed description of where you were, what you were doing, and who with."

Haruno Sakura hesitated, thinking things through. "I was at home, in my apartment." She recalled, looking up at the ceiling. "I was eating some ramen, having been suggested to by Naruto. Then, as I was tired from a mission earlier with Kakashi and Choji, I went straight to bed. When I woke up the next morning, Naruto was banging on my door telling me Ino had been killed."

Tsunade stared at the girl until she made eye contact with her, then pursed her lips. "Thank you, Sakura. That will be all."

"Thank you, Tsunade. I hope you figure out who the killer is." Sakura mumbled, then left the room without looking back.

The Hokage sighed, and scribbled a few things on a sheet of paper in front of her labelled 'SAKURA'. She noted down the ramen, the ramen being suggested by Naruto, the mission with Kakashi and Choji, Naruto telling her Ino had been killed, and the argument with Sai. The argument with Sai was interesting. But first she had something else to do. She stood up, tucking the sheet of paper in a drawer after folding it in half once, then informed Shizune to man the front while she was out solving this mystery.

_xxx_

Evening broke on Konoha, snuffing out the last beam of sunlight, casting it into the shadowing darkness. Hinata was at the river below the bridge, even with the killer on the loose. She came here every night to ponder about her life, and all she wished for. To have Naruto's heart, not see him pine after Sakura, and to be so much stronger. She tried to think she had nothing to worry about. She was in Konoha, not out of it like Ino was, where anything could happen and nobody could see. Yes, she was fine.

She had talked to Kiba and Shino earlier. Kiba seemed angry by the accusations at them all, and Shino seemed dazed by it all, but trying to figure it out. He said he and Shikamaru were trying to piece things together, and were going to visit the area Ino was killed tomorrow. Hinata was welcome to come along, as was Kiba. Kiba refused, but Hinata told them she might come along. She didn't want to appear rude.

"Hinata." Just as Hinata was thinking of going home, a voice broke into her thoughts. It was a voice Hinata recognised, but this did not cheer her up. She could only hope she was wrong with her sudden gut feeling. They couldn't be the murderer. Not them.

"W-what do you want?" Hinata's voice trembled, but she put on her Byakugan immediately. They were holding a Kunai behind their back. "Stay back!"

Hinata's comrade seemed hurt. "You think I'm the killer, Hinata? How could you think such a thing? I just saw you walking home on your own and wanted to join you." Their tone seemed genuine, but Hinata kept their guard. "You never appreciated what you had, Hinata. You were too jealous of others." They sighed, and they put an arm around her. With their other arm that they were hiding behind their back before, they brought forward and Hinata saw they were holding a rope with a weight fastened onto it. "No!" Hinata gasped, charging her chakra in her hands. The comrade tied the rope around her neck, and without stopping for a second, ripped off her headband and pushed her into the freezing water of the river.

"Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."

Then they left the headband at the side, and walked away.

_xxx_

Tsunade frowned. Sakura didn't have any ramen boxes in her apartment at all, after an ANBU guard went to search through her apartment. The zero eye contact Sakura had made with Tsunade while telling her excuse had made her suspicious of whether she was telling the truth. She made sure she would have a word with Naruto tomorrow, and put a tiny question mark next to Sakura's name.

**Author's Note:_ And this has changed too. I should have informed all of my current reviewers. Might not seem like much at the moment, but it needed to be changed. Hope that's fine! REVIEW.  
_**


	3. Another

**Chapter Three: Another**

Naruto strode down the path leading towards the old training area he and his team had worked in as fast as he could. Yesterday, the body of Hinata Hyuuga had been buried, next to Ino's. She had been found by Ten Ten walking to Neji's home in the early hours of the morning. Well, her headband had. Then Ten Ten ran to alert someone. Tsunade was pondering whether the killer was only killing females. Naruto, who was walking alongside Kiba, hadn't spoken since hearing of Hinata's death from Neji. When they got to the clearing, they saw Lee, Ten Ten and Neji leaning against a few trees. Their faces were solemn.

"Kiba, Naruto," Lee walked towards them and hugged them. "We cannot believe Hinata has been killed."

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Kiba asked directly, looking over at Neji and Ten Ten. They edged nearer. "Naruto and I are going to visit both areas the girls were killed. Shikamaru had a prior engagement, so I decided, in respect to Hinata, I would go after all."

Neji sniffed indignantly. "What good will that do? They've had the best ANBU searching around, no trace has been left. We're Ninja, we should cope with death better than this. It is around us all the time. Fate decides these things. Who is going to killed, who isn't." His tone was matter-of-fact, but he seemed agitated. "The fact the killer has been using a simple weapon plays in their favour too. They didn't use their special technique."

"How could Hinata allow herself to be killed?" Ten Ten wondered, casting her gaze down at the grass in dismay. "Tsunade has alerted the entire village to travel around in groups of three or more now, and never walk alone."

"Now that we know more than one person has been killed. Maybe there are more to come." Kiba muttered, growling with Akamaru. "Why Ino and Hinata? I just wonder what the killer's reasons are for suddenly killing their two friends. Tsunade can't even look any of us in the eye anymore." He and Naruto had talked to Tsunade earlier, both explaining where they were that night. Naruto was asleep, and told Tsunade he had indeed suggested Ramen to Sakura, while Kiba was out with Akamaru taking him for walk in the evening behind his house.

Neji folded his arms, frowning. "Who do you two think killed Hinata and Ino? One of the ANBU remarked it looked like the blood was wiped away with something at both of the girls' necks."

Lee raised a large eyebrow and cocked his head to one side, staring a Neji. "Where did you hear that?"

"I overheard them talking." Neji answered, fiddling with his long, silky hair. "In fact, I am asking all of you. Who do you think killed them?"

Naruto cleared his throat and spoke in his deep, serious voice. "It is wrong to talk about our friends in this way. I am assuming you have brought Kiba and I here as you believe we had nothing to do with the murders, and want to discuss either Sakura, Choji, Sai or Shikamaru. We should either all talk as a group or not at all. That is my judgement on this situation. Choji and Shikamaru have lost a team mate, as have we. It is a crushing time for us all, I am sure. You have lost your cousin, Neji."

"Which is exactly why I want to figure out who," Neji informed Naruto smoothly. "My team, and Team Seven, are those not damaged. This may be because we are the stronger teams and could put up a fight to the killer, perhaps. Going by this judgement, the killer can't be too strong, or too stupid not to have been caught by now."

Ten Ten caught on to what he was saying immediately. "Shikamaru?"

Lee itched his bandage on his arm, and considered what Neji had said. Shikamaru? He was the smartest of them all, it was true. His Shadow Technique if used could easily trap a person, though no techniques had been used on either Hinata or Ino from what people could tell. Then he shook his head. His friends were full of youthful pride and encouraged one another, not accused one another.

The conversation had grown uncomfortable. "How can you guess at people, Neji?" Kiba demanded. "This – this is just sick! We should be working together, not accusing one another. I overheard Team Seven at it the other day, Sai accusing Sakura, and vice versa. We're falling apart at the time we need each other most. Come on, Naruto." He added, turning his back to Team Gai. "We're leaving. Ten Ten, Lee. Think about what you're doing. Accusing perhaps an innocent person. How would you like it if I said Lee was guilty? Or Ten Ten? Or Neji?"

Ten Ten chewed her lip until it bled. Neji lay back in the grass, his hair spread around him like a halo.

_xxx_

"Hey, Naruto," Kiba called, as he watched Naruto walk up a tree. "What made you stand up to Neji like that?"

Naruto got to a high branch, the leaves covering his view from below so he could no longer see Kiba and Akamaru. "I was infuriated with the fact he was accusing our friends. What gives him the right to do so?" Akamaru barked loudly, then emitted what sounded like a whine. "I know his cousin died, she was our team mate. That doesn't make him suddenly eligible to pin the blame on someone." He replied, then took a scout around the area. "From what I can see up here, the area around the forest looks normal. I know it's been a few days, almost a week since Ino's death, but it is always good to check. There's no sign of fire anywhere else. Just the patch Ino was killed." There was the sound of some running from down below, and a shout from Kiba. Naruto frowned.

"Kiba, there's nothing here." He announced. When Naruto received no reply, he sighed and began to walk back down the tree. When he got to the bottom, Kiba was nowhere in front of him. Then he heard a cough, and turned around.

Naruto turned around as hot, boiling oil was thrown over him, covering his skin, singing him, burning him. He screamed and crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain, while the killer poured more and more oil onto him, with no remorse. They concentrated chakra in their hands, cooling them so the oil did not burn, but was hot even through the china jug that held it. This task had taken weeks to master, and yet their hands still turned red. They dropped the jug once all the oil was gone, and watched Naruto die.

"Naruto, I expected more of a fight, even if I did catch you by surprise. Your wanting to be the most powerful, influential person in the village is too much. You caused this. You deserved it." They declared, staring into his desperate eyes, with agony in them. Then Naruto was still.

"Some people want too much. We did not come with pretext for greed."

_xxx_

The killer sighed, feeling glum and alone. They were in the library. They sank into the darkest, oldest corner of books they could find. The dusty old book stuck out of the shelf slightly, so they could remember where it was, and they picked that one to read. It was a Bible. They read this religiously, the pages yellowing under their shaky fingers.

They sniffed the old dusty smell of books and leant against the cold wall, the scratchy carpet tickling their legs. A distant rumble of voices could be heard and the turning of pages. The killer saw a few children giggling over a comedy book, and pursed their lips in disdain.

Following this book was the right thing to do. Others deserved their punishment for their sin. The killer snapped the book shut, dust scattering into the air, and walked home.

_xxx_

Kakashi stood at Tsunade's desk, arms folded, a grim expression on his face. The Hokage was rubbing at her temples with a splitting headache. "So, now I've explained the current situation, you can assume your job in all of this." Tsunade murmured, frowning. "No one has actually been eliminated so far as a suspect, but there are too many other important matters for me to take this case any further personally. Any new information comes straight to me."

"I'll be questioning each person." Kakashi clarified, adjusting his headband over his eye better. "I'll start with Shikamaru, then Sai and Choji tomorrow."

"Be sure to tell me what they said. This is getting way out of hand. We need to sort this out fast. None of those individuals are to be left alone after tomorrow." Tsunade informed him. "Ino and Hinata are a great loss to Konoha. Their fathers are both furious. Kurenai is desperately sad."

Kakashi nodded, thinking of his red eyed comrade who only yesterday dropped a white rose onto Hinata's grave. "I'll make sure there is a Chuunin or Jounin watching each of them." He promised. "We'll make sure no one else is killed."

Just as he was about to leave, Shizune burst through the door. "Tsunade! Naruto's body has just been found in the forest!"

**Author's Note: **_**Review! Next chapter up soon, hopefully. Should explain things a bit more, though some of you, most of you, have probably got it by now. I reckon this will have seven chapters? REVIEW. Who do you think the murderer is? What is their motive? Short again, sorry, but should be longer next chapter. This one shouldn't have taken that long, but I had to rewrite it after my new idea came through.**_


	4. Drawn Regret

**Chapter Four: Drawn Regret**

At a funeral, it is impossible not to cry. Not if it is your friend, your comrade. Someone you've spent your entire life with. Rain fell onto the earth, puddling it with shame and guilt. Everyone was dressed in black. Every person in the village attended; this was their hero, the one who had defeated so many enemies to protect the village. The future Hokage. Not anymore. Only one person was pleased with this result, and they blended with the crowd, tears falling from their shadowed eyes. The sooner this was all over, the better. Seven to kill, seven to condemn for their sin. Uzumaki Naruto was in a white coffin, and Sakura was crying more than anyone else. She did not stop, not when Ten Ten put an arm around her, not when Lee hugged her.

After the funeral, the sky turned darker than before. It was one in the afternoon, but it felt like the night time, grey skies and cold rain making everyone even more miserable than they already were. Today, Iruka and Gai had returned from a mission just too late to see Naruto one last time alive. They heard the news of Ino and Hinata as well, and couldn't believe their ears. One thing Iruka could tell Tsunade, was that he and Shino were talking at the time of the first murder. Gai was training with Lee. Having been sent on a mission almost immediately afterwards, they hadn't realised how vital these pieces of information were.

Shino and Lee were the only ones cleared of suspicion. Tsunade didn't apologise for suspecting them, and she sent them a mission almost straight after Naruto's funeral. A Chuunin was assigned to watch over one of the remaining suspects each. Shino was to watch over Sai, Lee to watch over Ten Ten. The suspects left were Sai, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Ten Ten and Kiba.

Kiba, who had appeared at the funeral a few minutes late, hair ruffled, Akamaru nowhere to be seen. He seemed shaky and nervous. After, Sakura rushed to him. "Kiba!" She called, a lump in her throat from crying.

In the noise of the rain, he only just heard her, and turned around reluctantly. "What is it?" He asked, not quite meeting her eye.

"What happened to you? You seem so..." Sakura struggled to explain. "Are you okay?"

Before Kiba could reply, a Chuunin tapped him on the shoulder. "Kakashi wants to see you immediately." She told him, beckoning. "Follow me."

As they walked away, something fell from Kiba's jacket and landed in a mud puddle. Sakura hurried to pick it up to give to him later. As she lifted it and wiped the mud away, she saw it was a old, battered book. An old, battered Bible.

_xxx_

All of the suspects were sat together in Lee's old dojo. He wouldn't mind them being here, and it was away from the rest of Konoha, at least. They were trying not to think of the fact one of them had murdered three of them. They just hoped that three was all it would be. Sakura flipped through the Bible; she hadn't realised Kiba was religious. Neji watched her, thinking the same thing about her.

"Do you believe in God, Sakura?" He asked, breaking the silence in the dojo.

The pink haired Kunoichi shrugged. "I'd like to think something was there after death." She answered, her lip trembling. "So I could see Naruto again someday. And Ino. And Hinata."

"Are you going to Hell?" Neji frowned.

Sakura blinked. "What makes you think Naruto is going to Hell?" She gasped.

Ten Ten cut across them smoothly. "I'm sure Neji didn't mean that, Sakura." She assured her, casting Neji a dark look. "I for one believe in God. But we're Ninja...we kill people. It's difficult. That's probably what Neji meant." She patted Sakura's back, then winced and pulled away. Sakura saw her hands were red, and blistered in some parts.

"Fighting for our country is different," Neji murmured. "Why are you reading a Bible then?" He persisted of Sakura, who was looking uncomfortable.

"Kiba dropped it." She replied, reading a line from a random page. _Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? _It unnerved her slightly – everyone was blaming each other for the deaths, but was everyone somewhat to blame themselves, even if they were not the killer? Or was she reading too deeply into this?

"I would not have put Kiba down for religious." Sai commented, a tiny frown on his face. He had kept silent for the past few days, but his relationship with Sakura was strained after the argument a few days ago. She refused to speak with him. "That seems odd. Much more your sort of thing, Neji."

_xxx_

Kiba hugged his knees to his chest. "Kakashi, now what do I owe this pleasure?" He wondered sarcastically. He was in a dark room, on a wooden chair, while Kakashi looked at him from across a table. The walls were grey, the floor was grey. Everything was grey, and there were no windows. The door was made of iron bars, like a prison. Kiba sensed something bad. The others that had been questioned just talked to Tsunade in her office. Why was he being given special treatment? If he could call it special; this was ridiculously uncomfortable and freezing. He hated being enclosed in a small space. He needed to run and shout, with Akamaru.

Kakashi leaned forward. His expression was neutral, but Kiba knew they weren't going to start talking about the terrible weather. "Kiba, we have reason to believe it was you who killed Naruto, Hinata and Ino."

"What?" Kiba whispered. His anger level rose. "What? What sort of proof do you have for that?"

"You and Naruto were alone in the forest when Naruto was killed." Kakashi told him, simply. "There was no sign of anyone else being there."

"Yes – I was there with Naruto, but that doesn't mean -" Kiba burbled. He slammed his fist on the table. "I am not to blame for his death! None of their deaths! How dare you!"

"Where were you when Naruto was killed? Answer me this, then." Kakashi ran a hand through his grey hair. "How did you not see him killed?"

Kiba paused, swallowing. He clenched both fists and gritted his teeth. His eyes flared angrily. "Look, I am not guilty. I can't believe you would even accuse me -"

"Kiba, this is not helping your case any. Answer the question."

"Naruto was up a tree scouting the area," Kiba muttered, slowly. "I was down on the ground with Akamaru. Then...Akamaru whined, and ran off with no explanation. I followed him, all the way out of the area. I couldn't find him for a while, no matter how much I called. And then he suddenly appeared, and was normal again. By the time I got back, there were ANBU everywhere and I saw Naruto...covered in...oil? Something. He was...it was...horrible to see."

Kakashi sighed. "Where is Akamaru now?"

Kiba blinked, startled by his question. He expected to be asked something more about his story. The usual Akamaru barking in the background behind Kiba was not there, it was true. The ninja chewed his lip, trying to stop the angry tears in his eyes. They hadn't even questioned everyone yet and he was being branded guilty. "At home. He was exhausted from running a lot. And I didn't want to take him to the funeral."

An ANBU guard walked through the door and muttered something to Kakashi, who glanced at Kiba for a second too long, then waved the guard away. "Okay, Kiba, that's all. Tsunade will be made aware of this interview. Stay here for a few moments, someone will escort you out."

"What?" Kiba laughed. "I can lead myself out, thank you." He stood up, but Kakashi gave him such a look he sat back down, confused.

"Just stay here for a minute." He ordered, then left, leaving the room empty besides Kiba. The door slammed shut, and Kiba couldn't hear anything outside.

Had the world gone mad? They couldn't just leave Kiba in here. He hated closed spaces and pulled at his collar uncomfortably. The walls seemed to close in on him now he was trapped in here. But just as he was starting to get really nervous, the door swung open and a guard beckoned him to come forward. Kiba was lead out and told to go home immediately, where his Chuunin watcher would be waiting for him. He did so without speaking, wondering what horrors had gone on in that underground, and shivered.

_xxx_

Neji, Ten Ten and Lee walked home. About fifty metres behind, a Chuunin walked and talked to Sakura and her Chuunin. Neji wrinkled his nose. "We're stronger than those two put together on our own." He said disgustedly. "You'd think they'd put up better people."

Lee coughed politely. "Neji, I am a guard too, for you." He reminded him, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. "I can deal with you." He added, quietly.

Neji smiled. Ten Ten stared at her hands.

_xxx_

It was sickening, really, but the murderer did love to dream about their murders. Ino, having no idea of the killer, was easiest to kill. But it was for their sin. She was a compromised girl. As were the others. Sinful. Disgusting. And Chuunin were very easy to drug in their sleep, it seemed. He slept very peacefully, the gas seeping into their nostrils which knocked them clean out for hours and left them waking up with the feeling they'd just had a peaceful sleep. The technique wasn't hard to master, but using it was risky. It had worked though, both times.

And as Choji lay sleeping, his Chuunin was also asleep. But the killer didn't care about him. It was their friends they wanted to save from themselves.

"You gorge on too many treats." The killer sighed. "You do not require more than you need." _G__ive, and it shall be given to you. For whatever measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt to you in return, _they thought, closing their eyes as they bent down to take off the lid in their box. Snakes, rats and frogs writhed inside. As the killer forced open Choji's mouth, he woke up in shock.

Choji couldn't even screamed as he was killed. Snakes, rats and frogs tumbled down his throat, biting, scratching, sounding, choking him, killing him. The killer shut Choji's mouth and closed his open, agonising eyes. Then they gathered the box, only left with snakes in, and carried it with them as they went to their next destination.

Shikamaru was awake when they got there, outside, leaning against his front door with a cigarette in his mouth. He nodded as the killer approached, took a long drag, then flicked it in the path. His hair wasn't tied in a topknot, but lose around his face, and the killer thought he looked astonishingly beautiful. They discarded this thought disgustedly and stepped forward, shivering in the cold breeze of the night. Shikamaru smiled knowingly.

"Back for more?" He asked, scratching his head and tugging his hair. "Or are you the killer?"

"Where is your Chuunin?" The killer questioned directly. "Shouldn't she be guarding you? Or he?"

Shikamaru smiled. "It's four in the morning. They thought I was asleep, so I slipped out here for a cigarette. Now what are you doing here and where is your Chuunin, I should ask."

The killer dropped the big box. It landed with a thud, but the lid stayed on and the snakes remained still inside. They moved forward until they had pushed Shikamaru against the wall and was kissing them on the lips. Shikamaru reciprocated, deepening the kiss and licking a tongue across their teeth. They kissed for a few minutes, hands moving up clothes. Shikamaru rubbed an erect nipple of the killer.

It had happened once before.

The day before Ino was killed, Shikamaru was lying in the grass watching the clouds when the killer lay next to them. They talked for a while, until Shikamaru brushed away a hair sticking to their cheek. The soft touch of his fingers made the killer feel a way they never had done before, and they got scared, and nervous. This was wrong, but they found themselves leaning forward and kissing Shikamaru on the lips.

Now, they went further, but clothes remained on as pulled themselves closer to one another. After a few more deep throated kisses, the killer pulled away and whispered into Shikamaru's ear, "Both."

Shikamaru didn't even act surprised. He kissed the killer's neck, then sighed. "Tch. I might have known it was you." He murmured, closing his eyes. "I didn't want to die this soon, that's for sure." He watched, willingly, as the killer moved the box closer, and opened the lid. Several, venomous snakes lay inside, wriggling and hissing. "I can fight against you, but there are little shadows in the night for me to use as the moon is behind clouds. Clever of you to come this night. I must ask, though. Why are you killing all of us?"

"Not all." The killer answered, taking Shikamaru's hand, and pulling him closer to the box. They stepped behind him. "Seven for your sins. Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Choji, and now you. But you are the biggest sinner of them all. For the diligent, a week has seven days; for the slothful, seven tomorrows. And you have given in to the temptations of myself."

"And you? Haven't you sinned for killing? For being with me?" Shikamaru asked, more curious than accusing.

The killer growled. "I am repaying my sin by allowing my friends to escape theirs." They told him, teeth gritted. "I will not give in to temptations ever again, Shikamaru. Goodbye."

The last words Shikamaru said were "how troublesome" as he was pushed into the box of snakes and saw the lid close over him.

Shikamaru was left to be found in the morning, as was Choji. The killer cried when Shikamaru died, and went away to find comfort in the darkness of sleep.

**Author's Note: _I killed two in one chapter? Yeah, that was to make up for the long gap between the last chapter and this one. Hope you enjoyed. We know now the killer's reasoning behind this, but who is the killer? Are they actually coping with the deaths? Are any of Konoha ever going to figure this out? Kakashi makes a startling conclusion in the next chapter about exactly what is going on with the killings...REVIEW. Reviews make me happy and write faster, seriously._**


	5. Realisation

**Chapter Five: Realisation**

Hiashi Hyuuga drank the cup of coffee in front of him. It was black. He hadn't slept the past night, too many thoughts troubling his mind. His daughter had been killed, the eldest, the supposed successor of the Head Clan. He had cast her aside like a broken object, focusing on Hanabi. Hanabi, when hearing of her sister's death, politely shed a few tears, then promptly got on with her training. She'd never been that close to Hinata but just how little she mourned for her sister had made Hiashi regret his decision about Hinata. It was an hour after the funeral for both Choji and Shikamaru, and Hiashi had called upon Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Chōza Akimichi. They were sat in the Hyuuga's porch, all troubled by grief, though Shikaku seemed relatively calm and collected. Chōza was a mess, crying and sniffling, spilling his tea and eating repeatedly. Kakashi was there too for the benefit of Naruto, and he was grieving silently. He was working on the case and believed Kiba was the killer. He was trying to figure out the connection the victims all had.

"Have any of you come to a conclusion about why our children have been targeted?" Hiashi asked, folding his arms. "Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Choji, Shikamaru...what do they all have in common?"

"I was just thinking that." Kakashi admitted, scratching his head. "But they are all individuals. I don't understand how Naruto could have let someone kill him. He was the most powerful ninja in the village."

"Which makes us think, doesn't it?" Shikaku spoke up, a frown between his eyebrows. "These five were capable ninja. Ino had the excuse that she was the first, so she was unaware of such murders going on. But the rest? Think about how they were killed, I say."

Kakashi ruffled the notes he had brought with him, a photo of each ninja pasted on the top of their sheet. "Ino...set on fire." He swallowed. "Hinata...drowned. Naruto...boiling oil thrown over him. Choji...force fed rats, snakes and frogs, while we believe he was asleep. Shikamaru...locked in a box of snakes. The causes of deaths are random."

Shikaku leaned back and closed his eyes, elbows propped up into the air as he rest his head against his hands. "Are they?" He murmured. "If you did some research, you would find they are punishments for the Seven Sins."

The rest of the Ninja turned to stare at Shikaku, who opened his eyes and wrinkled his nose. "You all didn't know that?" He muttered. "Really, Kakashi, Tsunade left you in charge of this case for a reason and you couldn't even come up with that." Shikaku scratched his goatee thoughtfully. "I hope none of you take offence to what sin your child or student has been guilty of. Shikamaru's was sloth. Choji's gluttony. Naruto's greed. Hinata's was envy. And Ino's was lust. How they were killed was how they'd be punished in Hell. For a friend to do this, I assume they were trying to save them from themselves by giving them their punishment already so they'd have paid for their sins."

The Nara Clan was intelligent, no one could argue that. But Kakashi was slightly irritated he hadn't come to this conclusion himself. Religion, of course, how hadn't he thought to check out about that? They all slotted together now. What were the last two sins left? He struggled to remember.

"And the last two?" Chōza asked, speaking up through his tears for his much loved son. "What are the last two sins?"

Shikaku raised a finger to the group. "Please remember, while this all fits, it could just be a coincidence, and the killer could just be killing at random in sick ways. The last two are Pride, and Anger. If we assume the killer is only killing their friends now, which can be a pretty safe assumption, we have left quite a few. Sakura, Sai, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Ten Ten and Neji. It's interesting how Gai's team hasn't been affected at all. Minus Shino and Lee and we have our suspects."

Inoichi exhaled, things finally making sense. It was true his Ino was a little boy crazed, but he was still deeply offended for her to be killed for the sin of 'lust'. He looked at the list of those left alive, and thought which of the two deadly sins would fit to those, and who wouldn't. "I cannot assign Ten Ten, or Shino, or Sai to any of those sins. Perhaps they are safe from the killer? Or perhaps Ten Ten or Sai is the killer?"

"I disagree. All of them would fit pride. But who is the most proud?" Shikaku mused, thinking of his son's comrades. "Sakura can get very angry very quickly. She has a lot of brute force. As can Kiba. Maybe Lee or Neji are the most proud."

"Should we guard Sakura, Kiba, Lee and Neji extra safe then? The Chuunin idea clearly didn't work and Tsunade called the ones guarding Choji and Shikamaru failures. She's withdrawn all of them and is going to assign Jounin now tonight, who won't let them out of their sight for a second. Lee and Shino, being Jounin, are still going to guard someone, but it may not be the same person as before." Kakashi frowned. Religion. Religious. Who was religious?

Inoichi finished his coffee and slammed it on the table. "We don't know enough about that Sai kid. Wasn't he involved with Danzo? He could be religious for all we know."

"Neji seems the sort, too. And Sakura was talking to me about Kiba dropping a Bible earlier." Kakashi told everyone.

"Kiba?" Hiashi leaped on the latter rather than his nephew. "Dropped a Bible? Surely this is all the evidence we need!"

"He was also reportedly with Naruto when he got killed." Kakashi added. "I'm pretty certain it's him, but...we need something solid. Sakura could be lying, remember. Though I'm positive she wasn't. She showed me the Bible and it looked pretty well read through."

Hiashi addressed the group solemnly. "Here is what we do know. Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru have all been killed in ways that link with the Seven Deadly Sins of the Christian Bible. That would mean the killer must be religious in some sense. The suspects we have left are Sakura, Sai, Kiba, Neji and Ten Ten. I suggest we each take one and question them right away as soon as we can find them. Let's go."

The rest agreed and stood up, wondering when this nightmare would end.

Kakashi was the last to leave, rubbing his eye and groaning. What a mess this all was. His mind travelled to the once happy group of friends. How could religion have turned someone like that? And why now? Why not earlier, or later? He tried to make the pieces of the puzzle fit but couldn't. Kiba. He was almost certain. With Naruto, dropped a Bible supposedly, seemed very shaken up about everything, angry easily when Kakashi accused him. No, the Ninja frowned. He couldn't use that last one as an excuse. Anyone would be angry if it wasn't them.

If it wasn't them? The thought had scattered across his brain before he could think properly. Was it Kiba or not? What if it was his only remaining team members, Sakura or Sai? Or someone from Team Gai? They were surprisingly unaffected by all of this. Could Neji or Ten Ten really do it? He couldn't place anyone, but the tiny shred of doubt about Kiba remained. It had to be him. Who else?

Tsunade was waiting for him in her office when he eventually turned up, fifteen minutes late. Kakashi was usually late, but not for important matters such as these. The Hokage was feeling agitated and angry. Hell, she'd guard them herself if she could! What had she been doing, assigning Chuunin? Sure, they were capable, but so was Naruto and he died. How was the killer _doing_ it? By surprise? Persuasion? It was madness. From a report yesterday she knew Choji could have been asleep but Shikamaru? Why would Shikamaru allow himself to be put into a box? Nothing made sense anymore.

"Tsunade." Kakashi greeted her solemnly, sitting down on a red leather lined wooden chair. "The parents are growing ever angrier and confused. So am I. I'm sure you are too. I'd like to volunteer myself to guard someone tonight. Kurenai has told me she'll do the same."

"Thank you, Kakashi." Tsunade's tone was serious. "Though I shouldn't really be doing so. Thanking you, I mean. Where have you got to with this case? Nowhere."

Kakashi hurriedly went on, "Shikaku revealed something today while I was talking with them. He says the deaths are linked to the punishments of the Seven Sins in Hell. Ino was lust, Hinata was envy, Naruto was greed, Choji was gluttony and Shikamaru was sloth. He thinks a friend is doing this to punish them in this life so they'll bear no malice in the next and accept them into Heaven."

"I _see_!" Tsunade gasped, slamming her fist down on her desk, causing her Sake bottle to wobble precariously, then tip right over and spill onto the table. She ignored it, thinking things through in her head. "And that leaves wrath, and vanity."

"Pride and Anger, yes." Kakashi nodded.

Tsunade ran a hand through her blonde hair. "Kakashi, I want you to team up with Shikaku to solve this case. It seems he's the one making any headway around here. Tell Kurenai, Gai, Shizune, Iruka, Anko, Shikaku and Yamato who they're guarding for tonight please. They're to go to the homes of who they are guarding and stay there, then deliver them all to me first thing in the morning, where you and Shikaku will then after I have finished talking with them interview each, while everyone listens." She paused to pick up the bottle, as if only just realising it had fallen. "You're guarding Lee. The thought didn't occur to me that I need to guard him and Shino too, from the actual murderer. Anko is guarding Shino. Gai is guarding Kiba. Yamato is guarding Sai. Shikaku is guarding Ten Ten. Iruka is guarding Sakura, and finally Shizune is guarding Neji."

She sighed deeply. "I am hoping by assigning everyone people they know, there won't be any easy way for the killer to trick them."

Kakashi didn't state the obvious fact that the killer was obviously good at tricking people they knew, as Tsunade complained of a headache and waved Kakashi impatiently out of the room. He left abruptly to tell everyone what Tsunade had ordered.

_xxx_

Sakura walked past Ino's closed flower shop and felt a tear sting her eye. Then she thought about Naruto and cried harder. She hid in an alleyway to avoid people asking her if she was all right. The day was cloudy and miserable, as it had been for a while. It was hard to believe five of them had been murdered. Sasuke was bad enough. Sakura wiped the tears with the back of her hand. The Konoha Thirteen had become the Konoha Seven. How many more? All of them until there was one left? She couldn't believe that, otherwise it'd be obvious who the killer was. So perhaps three of four? Sakura was terrified of dying. She'd rather endure the worst of tortures.

"Sakura, are you okay?"

The comforting voice of a friend warmed Sakura's ears. She was in such a state she didn't remember Tsunade's words earlier: "You'll get another guard tonight, someone you know and trust. Until then, either stay indoors or stay in public view. Do not go anywhere private alone. If one of your friends appears alone beside you, get out of there fast and come tell me immediately who it was." But no, Sakura was too busy crying to get her head straight, and she cried onto her friend's shoulder.

"It's all just too much. I just used to yell and punch Naruto when I got angry at him, but now I just want to hug him, and tell him how I much I love him as a friend..." Sakura sobbed.

Then she felt the worst pain imaginable as something searing and sharp cut through her right shoulder. She screamed for a second, only to have a hand muffle the noise. Her friend, who she trusted, was the killer. She scolded herself for her mistake but cried more with the pain. She didn't bear to look where the pain was, but when she did, saw her entire arm had been cut off with the kunai in her friend's hand.

The kunai was an especially sharp one, and extra large. The killer dismembered Sakura's left leg from below the knee down, and watched shamefully as the pink haired Chuunin collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from her mouth as she coughed and spluttered and yelped, not able to scream anymore with the loss of blood. With her left arm, Sakura tried to heal some of the pain, but as it was useless, she instead she tried crawling towards the public's view. The killer was onto this in a second, and cut off Sakura's left hand. Sakura gasped, eyes widening, as she lay on the ground, statue still for a moment, the pain too overwhelming.

"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret — it leads only to evil." The killer whispered, kneeling down and staring into Sakura's big, green eyes filled with terror. "I wish not to kill you all." The killer added in dismay, stroking Sakura's hair as she whimpered. "I am sorry you had to be the second to last to go. But I've saved you now."

Sakura coughed, a blood spot landing on the killer's cheek. They wiped it away with a fingertip and placed the blood back on Sakura's lips. Then she died.

The killer sighed, walking away from the area. Sakura's wrath was over. But had it been over long ago? Was all this just a mistake...a way of the killer feeling some sort of redemption for everything they had done themselves? Shikamaru...the killer scowled and marched forcefully to their home, after carefully checking there was no blood on their clothes. Shikamaru, the lying...saving their friends would save them for sure. They hoped.

Six down. One last person to kill. No, to save.

_xxx_

Kiba patted Akamaru's head as he let himself in to his house. "Are you all right, old pal?" He asked, getting a bag of crisps and a sandwich from a drawer and settling himself on his sofa. Akamaru lay across him, heavy but enough to bear. The dog acted especially cute and adorable, but Kiba could see through his trick and laughed. "Fine, fine, here's a crisp," he chuckled, feeding him one, the taste of salt and vinegar in both of their mouths. Kiba flicked through a book, munching, feeling idle and wanting a mission to go on. He hadn't go on one in ages.

His easy smile faded and turned into a frown when he remembered why. Because his friends had been killed. Because Kakashi thought it was him. Then before he could angst any further, he heard persistent banging on his door. "Who is it?" He yelled, standing up, disturbing Akamaru and brushing the crumbs from his lips. "You do realise, if there's just one of you out there I'm not letting you in." He added loudly, peering through the spy hole. He could make out two shadowy figures, and felt relieved quickly.

Neji and Ten Ten were stood outside; Ten Ten with a calm smile on her face and Neji unemotional. Without being asked they walked through to Kiba's sitting room and sat on his sofa. Kiba rolled his eyes and shut the door. It wasn't like he was close to these two. What were they doing here exactly?

"What are you doing here?" Kiba said eventually, not noticing Akamaru's growl at the sight of them. "If you don't mind, I was reading."

"Reading a Bible?" Ten Ten smirked. "We all heard about that one."

Kiba groaned. "Oh, God, what the hell does that have to do with anything? Are _you_ guys going to accuse me now?"

"Well, Kakashi's just been to see us and told us who was guarding us, etcetera, and when I asked how he was doing solving the murders, he told us they thought it was to do with the Seven Sins in the Bible." Ten Ten explained, recalling back to an hour before. She looked down at her hands, the blister marks barely there anymore, just redness on her hands. She spotted Kiba following her gaze, and smiled. "I burned them while I was making a fire with Neji and Lee the other day." She admitted. "I wasn't being careful enough."

Neji cut across her, sounding irritated. "The point is, we're certain Kakashi thinks it was you. You and the Bible. The Seven Sins. With Naruto when he died. It's all starting to add up for him.."

"For goodness sake!" Kiba shouted. "Why don't you two prissy morons go and leave me alone? So I read the Bible. It doesn't mean _anything._ Why don't you get your facts straight before you come round here accusing me."

"On the contrary," Neji murmured. "_we_ aren't accusing you of anything. Kakashi is. And Kakashi is the one solving the case. We came round here to warn you he will be at your house momentarily to tell you about who's guarding you. You should deny everything. Don't tell him anything. We know it isn't you, Kiba."

Despite himself, Kiba snarled, "And how do you know that?"

Ten Ten chuckled nervously. "Come on, guys, we don't want to argue here. Sorry Kiba, for disturbing you. We should have thought otherwise. We just wanted to inform you before you said something stupid."

Kiba deflated instantly. "Sorry, Ten Ten. Thank you for telling me I guess. Just...get out of my house, okay? I need time to think."

They both left, and after the door slammed behind them and they walked a few metres, they saw Kakashi heading up, who was looking at them, puzzled.

"Hey, guys." He called, as he drew closer. "What were you doing at Kiba's house?" He raised an eyebrow. "Walking around as a two isn't safe. Go and get Lee, please." Then he walked ahead, and the two stared at him until Kiba's door opened, then carried on walking.

Ten Ten spoke first. "Reckon he'll deny everything?"

"Yes." Neji answered, solidly and confidently. "Now come on. Let's go and get Lee."

**Author's Note: _Yay, another chapter! REVIEW! I'll write quicker, I promise. This one was slow coming up because I thought I posted it, then realised I'd only written three quarters of it. Well, what do you think? Kakashi seems to have made his mind up – or has he? Sakura is dead. I'm very happy I killed her off, I hate her. And she had a particularly gruesome and painful death too. Not that I'd wish that on her really. Just her death would be fun. I realise I have really given Sai, Lee or Shino hardly any, shall we say, read-time, but they'll definitely appear next chapter. There is only one last person to kill now. Who will it be? Who do you WANT it to be? Who is the killer? Tell me in your review! Hope you enjoyed!_**


	6. Caught Out, Killer!

**Chapter Six: Caught Out, Killer!**

Dusk was beginning to dawn on Konoha. Tsunade had called a meeting for the remaining survivors of the massacre that was occurring. She was sat behind her desk, and was gazing upon Kiba, Ten Ten, Lee, Shino, Sai and Neji. Neji and Ten Ten were standing close together, exchanging glances every now and the. Lee was stood behind them, an anxious frown between his eyes. Kiba was the only other person sat down besides Tsunade, his arms folded. Earlier, he had denied anything to Kakashi, who questioned him once more about where he was when Naruto died, and about the Bible. The masked man had left dissatisfied, and was now stood outside the Hokage's office, looking in at the window, hiding from view. A few specks of rain fell onto the ground, the sky spitting carelessly onto the broken village.

"Sakura is late." Tsunade muttered, after downing a bottle of Sake. Her eyes followed the reactions of what she said from everyone else. Lee looked worried instantly, Sai looked concerned, as did Ten Ten. Neji kept his place, as did Shino. Kiba frowned. "Or dead." The Hokage added the last statement coldly. "Which makes six, and one more Seven Sin to go."

Now, the reactions were a lot more clear. Kiba's eyes widened, Ten Ten's mouth fell open, and even Sai and Neji looked uncomfortable. "Which one of you killed Sakura? Killed them all?" Tsunade asked quietly. She stood up, pushing her chair back so it toppled over. "Who?" She shouted. "I don't want one more of you to die! But I don't want to send you all away so the killer can run free once more. By tomorrow, who knows? There'll be five of you left, four innocent, one guilty. I still have no clue which of you is it! Lee and Shino...Shino, guard Kiba, Lee, guard Ten Ten. Sai and Neji, Kurenai and Anko are waiting at your apartments."

She deflated, rubbing at her temples, a splitting headache pounding in her head. "If one of you is killed tomorrow, that would leave three people. Two innocent, one guilty." She was more talking to herself now. "Leave. I want to see you _all_ back here tomorrow at twelve sharp."

After they left, she called Kakashi in. "Find Sakura's body." Tsunade murmured. Kakashi nodded, and was gone.

The Hokage fought the tears at the back of her throat. Naruto and Sakura were dead. Six were dead. Would the killer be found? Ever?

_xxx_

One friend said to another, "I'll catch you up. I just need to use the bathroom."

The other hesitated. "I'll wait outside."

"Okay." They smiled. "I'll be just a minute."

True to their word, a minute later, they came out, and they walked to their home together. Not known to the guard, who they were walking along with was nothing but a shadow clone.

And as another friend walked along with a comrade to their home, they kept their guard up. They walked swiftly, and quietly, and once they were inside their friend's house they relaxed slightly. Their friend owned a small bungalow near the edge of Konoha, right near the forest and the entrance. They sat down on the sofa and stretched. "Shall I make you a cup of coffee?" They offered politely, realising their comrade was stood in the doorway of the kitchen anxiously. "Is everything all right?" They questioned further, standing up and walking towards them.

"Oh." Their friend smiled, shaking their head. "I was just...daydreaming. I'll make the coffee. I'll be just a moment."

They went into the kitchen and put the coffee maker on. They opened a drawer and stared at the cutlery.

Meanwhile, Sai walked home fast. It was dark now, and his home was furthest away from the Hokage mansion. He stared at the stars, head bent up, as he walked, but he arm rested on his blade. It was at this moment he sensed something flying towards him. He turned around in the nick of time and blocked a sharp kunai with his sword, causing it to fly off in a random direction and land on the ground. He narrowed his eyes, sensing out the danger. Another weapon flew at him and he deflected it again, knowing dodging was worthless – it would hit him. Whoever threw this weapon was clearly extremely talented.

"Show yourself, why don't you?" Sai called into the shadows. "Come on out..."

The killer's figure stepped into view. "Well done, Sai. I didn't have a wheel to break you on, unfortunately. No matter. My weapons will send you to heaven to rescue you from your own pride." The killer span a kunai around their finger, then threw it. Sai jumped backwards and hit it back at them. They caught it deftly and threw it straight back. This time, Sai hit it to the ground and it landed with a clang.

"I forgot you were the best at sensing a surprise." The killer admitted. "But you are my last one to save. You are the corrupted, full of sin."

Sai rubbed an eye; ran a hand through his black, glossy hair. "Mistake." He muttered.

"When _pride_ comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." His comrade told him. "There is no mistake. I've saved six of you from your sins, and now you are the last."

"And everyone else?" Sai asked.

The killer's expression seemed strange. They shrugged after a moment. "There are Seven Sins. Therefore I rescue seven of you. Goodbye, Sai. You're safe now." They threw another blade and it hit Sai straight in the face – but he disappeared in a puff of smoke. A twig fell to the ground. The realisation hit the killer full in the face. They sensed Sai behind them and turned around just in time to block an attack.

"I'm better than you with weapons." The killer murmured, and jumped backwards and threw a huge kunai straight at Sai's neck. It hit him, lodging itself straight in the middle, the tip of the blade seen from the back of his neck. Sai gasped, but no sound came out. He staggered forward, seeming in shock, and closed a hand around the handle of the kunai. But he didn't pull it out. He fell to his knees and closed his eyes. Then he started to form a seal with his hands, and an ink scroll appeared. Before he could start writing on it, the killer stabbed his hand with another blade, sticking it into the ground. They did the same with his other hand. Sai fell forward awkwardly, and took his last breath before dying.

"Seven saved. My work is complete." They sighed, relief washing over them. It had been difficult – to come up to them and surprise an attack was hard. Sai could have gotten away, but he stayed and fought. They bent down and stroked his hair, and thought of Shikamaru. "I am better than that. I am saved from my temptations now, by saving my friends." The killer mumbled anxiously. The image of Shikamaru played in their minds, their kiss, their day in the grass. The killer punched the ground and their knuckle bled. A tear formed in the corner of their eye. "Stop it. It's wrong. I must be chaste. Forgive me."

The night was clouding over, stars disappearing behind the grey clouds. The moon remained bright and steady, but a chill wind tickled the killer's skin, causing the hair on their arms to stand up on end. Goosebumps stood up, and they shivered. They remained by Sai for one more minute, then pulled themselves up, wincing slightly at the blood spilled on the ground.

"So you managed to kill Sai."

The voice behind the killer startled them, and they turned around. Their friend stood behind them, arms folded, standing up straight. They looked at Sai, then back at the killer. "We're done, finally." Their friend said, hugging the killer. "Let's get out of here before we're caught up."

They held hands, and no sooner had they stepped over Sai's body did they see Lee ahead of them, looking in their direction, his mouth wide open in astonishment, and the shadow clone of one of them stood behind him.

_xxx_

Kakashi came across Sakura's body and closed his eyes in horror at what he saw. Holding his breath, he beckoned the ANBU members who had come with him with the correct equipment, and they set to work clearing away the mess, and putting her body...or what remained of it, in a body bag. Sakura's parents would have to be alerted. They weren't Shinobi. It would kill them.

He thought of his team. Himself, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke. All of them were dead now. He was the only one left, and he knew that wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Everyone on Kakashi's team died. The Fourth, Obito, Rin, Sasuke, Naruto, now Sakura. He leaned back on the alley wall and covered his face with his hands. Sai and Yamato were the only ones left now.

Anger spurred inside of him. He didn't know what to do. If he ever found out who the killer was, he didn't know if he'd be able to control himself.

"Bastard." Kakashi murmured, clenching his fist. He never swore, not usually, and tried to keep optimistic, but this...it was too much. After checking everything was going as it should, he walked away, on the way to Sakura's parent's home. He didn't know how to break the news to them. It was much more difficult as they weren't Shinobi. How would her mother react? Her father? He hadn't met the people, only knew where they lived. As he drew nearer, he thought he heard some sort of commotion from the next street. After the killings, Tsunade had ordered all civilians and ninja not assigned to a mission to stay indoors. So this had to be ninja, and it had to mean trouble. He detoured from his original destination, and before he could even turn to look where the noise was from, he saw a green flash crash into him.

"Argh!" Kakashi defended himself and pushed the person back. Then his eyes widened in surprise as he saw it was Rock Lee. "Lee? What are you doing here?"

The bobbed haired Jounin had a serious look in his eyes. "Kakashi-sensei!" He cried. "The killer...I..."

Kakashi took hold of him by the shoulders. "What? Lee, what are you talking about? Who is the killer? Tell me! Where are they?" He looked past Lee's shoulder and saw the empty street...and Sai's dead body. It was like being punched in the stomach. One more team member gone. Forever. There was no one else nearby. "Lee!" Kakashi shouted. "Tell me everything you know."

Lee hesitated, deflating suddenly. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

_xxx_

Ten minutes earlier, Neji and Ten Ten stood hand in hand as they saw Lee punch Ten Ten's shadow clone. They watched it disappear, and stood there helplessly as Lee walked towards them in a daze, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing. His two closest friends and comrades...? Lee shook his head and stopped a few metres in front of them. He looked down at Sai, who was even paler than he was alive, if that was possible, then back up at his friends. He looked at their clasped hands and wished this was any other situation, so he could congratulate them on finding each other in the springtime of their youth. Clearly, that was never going to happen. They had found each other...and their love for murdering their friends.

There was a heavy silence, awkward and tense. Then Lee clenched and fist and stared directly into Neji and Ten Ten's eyes, disappointment and shock burning in his own. "Please tell me, you both just found him here."

"You know that wouldn't be the truth." Neji answered, quietly, breaking his hold on Ten Ten's hand and stepping to the side slightly, away from her. "And you wouldn't understand why we are doing this. We did this for all of us. Seven needed to be saved, desperately. Kiba has a Bible, he is saved. Ten Ten and I are saved. You, our closest friend, have such an honest heart and an open mind to anything. Shino..." Neji paused. "Well, no one knows what Shino is thinking. But the Seven we chose were the obvious choices."

Lee shook his head. "I do not understand. I want the full story. Please. From...from Ino, to now. I just need to know why you did this." He frowned, suddenly. "This does not make any sense. You two were the ones who _found _Ino first of all. I remember Ten Ten was crying so much at her funeral..."

Ten Ten took a deep breath and began to explain herself and Neji. "It was the day before Ino died when I snapped. I've always been eager to get better, become someone worthwhile, and as I trained, I watched my friends pour their lives down the drain, or big themselves up too much. I started reading the Bible after my mother passed away seven years ago. She was a Catholic who entrusted the Bible to me in her Will. I read it on and off, but then about a year ago I became engrossed in it. Finally, something to believe in truly. Someone who believed I was worthwhile. And then I read about the Seven Sins. I learned about their punishments in Hell. I watched my friends from that moment on. Watched them commit these sins. At first I was anxious about being a ninja, and I realised my dream of becoming the best Kunoichi was selfish and full of pride for myself. So I cast that dream aside, and instead dreamed of saving my friends. I figured if I killed Ino in this life the way Hell would punish them for her sin, I could save her, and have her sent to Heaven instead."

After a small pause, the brunette continued. "And then I overheard Shikamaru and Choji talking about Ino. The day before she was due back from the mission. Choji was talking about how beautiful she was, and if she gained a few pounds she'd be perfect. To which Shikamaru laughed and said Ino was hot, and her clothes made her seem...up for it, but she was far too troublesome." Ten Ten's tone was one of disgust. At the mention of Shikamaru and Choji, Neji seemed angry about something. "So I went out into the forest the next day to rescue Ino from herself and others. I punished her for lust, as Hell would have done. She is in Heaven now, smiling down and thanking me, I am sure." Her expression was anxious. "She is. She acknowledges what I did was right. She knows I'm someone to listen to and respect now."

"Ten Ten..." Lee didn't know what to say. "Neji? Where do you come in?"

"When Neji and I picked flowers for you," Ten Ten explained, "we found Ino. I hadn't told Neji anything at that moment, but later we were talking, and he saw my old Bible, opened at the page of the Seven Sins. He asked me about it, and I found out he was religious too. We talked things through, and Neji came up with the idea to save six more of our friends. My dream expanded to saving all of you. We talked, and came up with a plan. Neji killed Hinata next. He wanted to be the one to save his cousin. And then I killed Naruto. Neji killed Shikamaru and Choji, and I killed Sakura. Our plan was working. Now, Neji killed Sai. We were finished. Our job is done, Lee. Leave us be. We've saved them."

Their most trusted friend kept shaking his head. "No! Why must you do this to everyone, Ten Ten? Neji? Think of their family. Your family, Neji. Everyone is damaged. Our friends are dead. There is only Shino, Kiba and myself left now that you two have chosen this path." He stepped backwards again and sighed. "But you are my closest friends. What do I do?"

Neji ran forward and hugged Lee. "I need to save myself, Lee. From everyone. You, Shikamaru..." He whispered. "Please let me help myself."

"What?" Lee was confused. "What are you saying, Neji?" He pushed him backwards. "I cannot hug you as a friend anymore. You are just someone I used to respect. I thought you were important."

"I'm wrong." Neji mumbled, and he seemed near angry tears. "I used to look at you in a way that would make you feel ill. Then...then Shikamaru..."

Ten Ten glared at him. "What?" She said, quietly. "Are you saying you're...I mean, you're..._gay_?"

"I had to kill Shikamaru. I had to stop myself from doing worse." Neji kept his eyes on the ground, not daring to look at either Ten Ten or Lee. "I needed to keep myself chaste. I needed help. I hope he can forgive me. Sai, Choji and Hinata, too..." He glanced up suddenly, startled. "What have we done, Ten Ten?" He gasped.

Now she was the one who was looking shocked. "Neji, what are you talking about? We've saved our friends! We've got the respect we deserve. No one ever appreciated me before. I was the one left out of everything. I bet none of you even knew my mother's name."

There was an awkward pause, where Lee was desperately trying to think of the name. His head was a huge scramble of thoughts, the shock and the horror and the pity and the shame, all mixed together, while Sai's body lay on the ground. He had no idea what to do in this situation. Should he fight them? Defeat them? Kill them? If only he had a binding jutsu so he could leave them here and go and get someone! Lee glanced at Neji, who had his face buried in his hands. Ten Ten, meanwhile, was standing tall with her hands on her hips. She'd always been fierce, but Lee hadn't realised underneath she felt unwanted and worthless. He would regret this now, for his whole life. Unless he could help her now. But how? Inoichi and Chōza and the others would all want to kill them both. This was an impossible situation.

"That's what I thought." Ten Ten muttered. "Lee, I am not going to apologise for saving my friends. Are you going to let me go, or are you going to battle me?" In her head, she calculated he was just about the only person who could actually dodge one of her weapons, even with his weights on, which put her in a bad situation. She turned to Neji, who had remained silent. "Neji, as long as you don't let yourself act on these temptations it's fine." She said softly.

Neji removed his hands from his face and stepped towards Lee again. "It's over, Ten Ten. I did act. I kissed Shikamaru. And now I wish I hadn't gotten involved in this. It was ridiculous, thinking we could save our friends. God knows when someone is truly sorry for their sins. And I am truly sorry."

Ten Ten's eyes widened when she realised she was on her own. "You will be sorry. You killed four people, Neji. You've killed more than me. Just because you repent, does not mean you won't be punished. Lee, what are you going to do?"

Lee stared his team mates. What would Gai say if he knew what his students were doing right now? He thought of all the previous conversations they'd had about the killer. They'd blatantly lied. Wasn't that a sin? Lee felt disgusted they would be cruel to their friends and kill them like this. But he never held a grudge, not ever.

And he couldn't rewind the past. He couldn't save his other friends.

"I am going to go and tell Kakashi-sensei that I know who the killer is. Who the killers are. Whether you are here when I return, is up to you." Lee told them both. Then he turned, and walked away. He picked up speed, and ran, whereupon he crashed into Kakashi. When he turned around, his friends were already gone.

"Who is it? Who is the killer?" Kakashi sounded extremely angry as he bent down towards Sai, and yelled this question at Lee, who was stood against a wall, disappointed in his friends. He at least expected Neji to stay, and to admit defeat.

"Killers." Lee answered, reluctantly.

Kakashi turned, shocked. "Killers? Two?" He repeated.

"Neji and Ten Ten." Lee finally told him, and all he felt twisting in his stomach, was shame, and guilt. "My best friends."

_xxx_

Ten Ten didn't know where she was going. She ran past the place she killed Ino, not even realising it was there, and kept going. She kept going until she was sure she heard footsteps behind her, and stopped, turning to see who it was. She was immensely surprised to see Neji, jumping to a stop just before her. He had a serious look in his eyes and was clutching a kunai.

"What are you doing, Neji?" Ten Ten asked. "Are you joining me? I have to leave here. I have no family. No friends. No one. People find out I'm the killer and there's an almost sense of relief. Oh, thank goodness, who's that girl again? She's no one, just the forgotten member of the Konoha Twelve. Attention seeking, probably. Didn't her father abandon her as a baby? Oh wait, no one will mention that last little fact because no one knows it." She was so angry, spitting her words at her friend. "I killed all of my friends because they were friends to me. Important. Now I realise if it had been the other way around, I'd be the one left alive because they'd simply have forgotten me."

Neji shook his head. "How can you think that, Ten Ten? Lee and I respect you. I joined you in saving everyone, remember? How can you not think at least one person respects you? I'm not joining you. I just came to say goodbye. I'm going back to Lee, I'm giving myself up."

The only girl left alive of their friends, she stepped forwards as Neji opened his arms to hug her.

**Author's Note: _OMG the killer turned out to be Neji and Ten Ten! Most of you guessed this. One reviewer in particular guessed quite a lot, even guessing Sai would be the last victim. One last chapter left. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm not too sure about it myself. REVIEW YAY. Poor old Lee with his tough decision. What would you do if you were in that situation? Say in your review! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, when I was bored yesterday I made a trailer to this fanfiction on my YouTube account. The link's on my profile. Feel free to check that out!  
_**


	7. Void

**Chapter Seven: Void**

Neji took out a kunai from his back pocket, but Ten Ten, weapon mistress, the best of the best, was too skilled and quick for him, and hit his kunai out of his hand with her own that she'd brought out in a flash. She seemed surprised, then hurt, then almost relieved. Neji stepped backwards, realising what was coming. Ten Ten twirled the kunai once, then brought it forward, point aiming straight at her best friend and comrade's body.

Ten Ten stabbed Neji with the kunai in her hand, straight into his stomach, so he would just suffer, just for a little while, just like everyone they'd killed, and like she suffered, everyday, with her life. He pulled the kunai out and dropped it to the ground, and pushed Ten Ten away. He looked down at his injury, then back up at Ten Ten, and to her surprise, he smiled. He seemed almost relieved. Neji just wanted to stop, to save him from himself, before he got out of control even more than he already had. And he couldn't think of another way to do so. He would be judged before being let into Heaven, and Ten Ten now had his last few minutes of life to watch. He wanted to repent all of his sins, now, before it was too late, and he told Ten Ten this. Her own smile stretched wider.

"Thank you, Ten Ten, for setting me free of any burden I have been on you, or anyone, if only you felt the same." Neji murmured. "I can see them all again now, and we can talk things through. If they would just listen." There was a sudden edge to his tone, and Ten Ten knew it would take time for him to truly be settled with what they had done. "But you, Ten Ten, you were with me until the end. I can thank you for that, even if you were the one to kill me. Can you do one last request for me?"

"What is it, Neji?" Ten Ten asked, helping him to sit on the path, his wound seeping blood and his energy draining. "One last request, seeing as you were one of the only three people to care about me."

"I am truly sorry, really sorry for what I did." Neji frowned, cautiously feeling the dusty path with his hand, while the other touched his stomach. "I do realise that thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt not tell lies. And...and you can't act on unnatural feelings. And I want forgiveness for these sins." He sounded anxious as he whispered these words. "I don't want to die. I'm..."

She hugged him again then, wondering if she should have just let him go, even if it meant her probably getting caught and him convincing her to go back to Tsunade and admit what she'd done. She wasn't sorry for what she did, but she wanted forgiveness, and maybe this would be enough for Neji now. "Don't be scared, Neji." She whispered, knowing what he was trying to say. "Imagine Heaven, with all of your friends waiting for you, appreciating you for who you really are. Even..." Ten Ten took a deep breath. "Maybe even Shikamaru will be there for you. I believe that God will save you from further pain." She kissed his forehead and he winced. "I do want forgiveness for my sins Neji." Ten Ten added, mumbling slightly, embarrassed. "For everything. Now what was your request?"

"Go to Lee, and tell him I said thank you." Neji ordered, his voice coarse and dry. "Tell him that giving me the chance to escape, and to maybe make a better life for myself, was much appreciated. Tell him not to put this on himself, as he could not have known, and he wouldn't have changed our minds if he did. And tell Gai thank you for being a wonderful Sensei, if a little crazy. Tell Tsunade and Kakashi I am sorry." He smiled for the last time.

Ten Ten stood up, letting Neji slide down until he was led on the ground. Behind her, she heard other ninja coming. She turned and saw Lee, Kakashi and Tsunade approaching. Lee arrived first, and when he saw Ten Ten and then Neji's body the look on his face was awful; he looked so sad and upset. Kakashi and Tsunade were different. They were furious that Neji was dead before they could talk to him, and they rounded on Ten Ten, their fury being let out on her instead.

"Ten Ten, how could you have killed your comrades and your friends so mercilessly?" Tsunade demanded, standing there with her hands on her hips and an angry expression on her otherwise attractive face. "Lee has told us everything, from start to finish. And now you have killed Neji, so he wouldn't have to face us. That's four people, Ten Ten. Eight comrades have been brutally murdered to make up for your own mistakes. And what are your mistakes, Ten Ten? What were Neji's mistakes?"

There was a silence. Ten Ten curled her hands into fists and stared at Tsunade straight in the eyes. She was not going to say anything to her. She would never understand. Her usually neat and glossy brown hair was greasy and matted, the buns loose and the hair tumbling about her shoulders, hardly any care shown to it in the past few days, but now, in the moonlight, much more clear to the eye just how bad its condition was. Her clothes were scuffed, and there was blood on her hands. Literally, and metaphorically. Kakashi seemed in shock at the fact it was these two. In his mind he was feeling immensely guilty about being almost certain it was Kiba, and reminded himself to go and apologise to him after this was all over. Kiba, Shino and Lee, the only ones left of this generation. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Having a little fling with Shikamaru was Neji's mistake, apparently," the Hokage answered herself crisply. "Which isn't even a mistake in itself. No one would care if Neji were homosexual. It doesn't say in the Bible that homosexuality is completely and utterly wrong and hideous."

Ten Ten shook her head. "He must not act on those feelings. And yet he did act on them. And that was his mistake. You don't understand. Neji and I...we saved our friends from the wrath and fury of Hell. That was our plan. We succeeded that plan. It was wrong to kill, and wrong to lie, and it was a terrible thing to do. But we did save them, at least."

"I'm an atheist, so to me, that was just plain murder." Tsunade snapped. "You can think about what you did sitting in our prison just outside of the main town. No, you know what? That's too good for someone like you. I want to tell all of your comrade's parents it was you and Neji that did it, and then you're being locked in the underground of our prisons for a long, long time. Neji got the easy way out. You'll have to have the punishment for the both of you." She swore to herself. "Neji and Ten Ten! I didn't even think of the fact there could have been two of you. Shino or Lee could have been involved if that were the case and we realised earlier on..." She shook her head impatiently. "I have had it up to here with these case. Almost all of you are dead and one of you isn't going to see the light of day for a definite while."

"Tsunade-sama, Ten Ten does feel truly regretful for what she has done," Lee started to say, but Kakashi cut him off coldly.

"People that kill their friends in this most brutal, disgusting manner are worse than any scum that has already walked the Earth." He hissed, anger boiling underneath his cool exterior.

Ten Ten reached over and patted Lee's arm. It was muscular; toned and strong. But Lee flinched as if Ten Ten had hurt him. "I am not sticking up for you, Ten Ten." Lee murmured under his breath. "I am just stating the truth. Gai-sensei is going to be so disappointed and in shock at this when I tell him. Or when you tell him."

"Neji told me to tell you thanks for everything. I need to tell Gai the same." Ten Ten told him, keeping her eyes on him and not on the furious Hokage and Kakashi. "Neji also said to me to tell you, Tsunade and Kakashi, that he is sorry for what he has done. He really is. I, however, stick by what I did."

Tsunade snarled, "You are a horrifyingly, stupid kid. Do you even realise what you have done?"

That was when Ten Ten snapped. She burst out into maniacal laughter, eyes wide, clutching her sides. No one had ever seen Ten Ten react like this before, it was shocking, and she didn't stop laughing. She looked a state, but she didn't care. "Of course I know!" She shrieked. "I put careful planning into all of this! What would you know about true friendship, Tsunade? You let Orochimaru become one of the biggest villains of all time, you let Jiraiya go on a suicide mission, you let your lover die, you let your brother die, oh, and you let Naruto and the others get killed too. Wonderful friend, you are!" Ten Ten laughed again.

The Hokage clenched her fists. Fury blazed in her eyes. She ran forward to punch Ten Ten in the face full pelt, jumping upwards and throwing herself downwards, screaming at her. Lee intervened quickly; he held out his hand to block her punch after running in front of Ten Ten at quick speed. He got knocked backwards quite a bit but managed to keep his balance. Dust scattered in the air. Tsunade stood, panting, a few metres away. Kakashi had held his place, not caring if Tsunade hit Ten Ten.

Lee tried to keep up a line of peace between everyone. He didn't want this to turn into a full scale fight, that was for sure. He wanted to mourn desperately for his friends, but hadn't yet had the time to do so. This would all be over soon. And then everyone looked around in surprise, as Shikaku, Inoichi, Hiashi and Chōza all came running up to them, seemingly very angry.

"I'd rather go down with honour in the eyes of God, than go to Prison and rot there!" Ten Ten shouted at them all.

Shikaku and the others stopped and stared at the situation. Shikaku nodded, almost knowingly. "The weapons girl." He stated. "Makes sense. No one really knows much about her. She must probably feel useless, or worthless, like everyone is used to her being there and doesn't make an effort with her."

Inoichi glared. "_This_ bitch killed my daughter? My Ino? I'll kill her!" He cried, then ran forward and cast his technique. "_Mind Body Disturbance Technique!_" He called, and pushed his jutsu at Ten Ten. "I'll send you to the fiery depths of Hell in your honour!"

As the jutsu hit her, though, she stabbed her arm to shock herself out of it and fell to her knees, gasping. She wearily stood up and took out a scroll, ready to perform a technique of her own. Before she could though, Lee kicked her in the face with a Konoha Senpuu, sending her flying backwards and hitting the ground on her back. Again, she got up, wiping the blood from her nose and shakily taking out another scroll. Lee didn't want to fight, but he would if he had to. And now, he had to. Because his friend was fighting a losing battle and he'd rather be the one to weaken her than anyone else.

The good times with his comrades were gone now. He thought of all of them fondly. Ino Yamanaka he was not close to, it was true. But he'd bought flowers from her shop often enough and they'd been on a few missions together. Hinata was he slightly closer to; he'd talked to her about her feelings for Naruto, and whether she was ever going to talk about her confession to him, rather than avoid him like the plague whenever he got near. A sharp pain of mourning hit his heart then. He only hoped Heaven was real, so Hinata could finally talk to Naruto. Naruto, his sparring buddy, the most powerful ninja in the village. How could Ten Ten and Neji defeat him so quickly, so harshly? He was a credit to everyone, so generous and kind, and loyal and brave. Choji, Shikamaru, Sakura, Sai...all of them, wonderful friends. Their lives were too short. Like a shooting star disappearing into the sky, rather than a steadily constant one, beaming happily away for a long time. Tears pricked Lee's eyes, but this was no time to sit and ponder about things while crying. Ten Ten had just fired a load of weapons at everyone and Lee had to dodge fast. One of them hit Tsunade in the forearm, who was just standing there angrily. The personal comments had really gotten to her.

Shikaku caught her in a Shadow Bind Technique by using the shadows of her weapons as they flew over and hit against the moon. Ten Ten glared at them all for a moment, knowing she was far too outmatched to even be able to escape, then proceeded to smile again. Lee stepped forward, but Tsunade pushed him back, shaking her head at him.

"I'm Hokage," she murmured, walking close up to Ten Ten, who was still grinning. "I'm the one who should finish this. If you want to go down in what you call honour, I'll grant that for you. Because this isn't honour. It's degrading, with no sense of dignity whatsoever. I'll send this little bitch to what she calls Hell. Enjoy your eternity of torture, Ten Ten. It's no less than what you deserve."

"You don't understand, Tsunade-sama," Ten Ten replied sweetly. "I have saved my friend's souls from all of that. I'll be happy now." A flicker of worry crossed her face, but Tsunade didn't even notice as she brought down the first rage filled punch.

Lee turned away from the scene and closed his eyes, putting his hands over his ears. Hiashi was bent down next to Neji, and his eyes were clouded with grief and disappointment. He punched the path crossly, then stood up and watched as Ten Ten was beaten.

_xxx_

The day later, Neji and Ten Ten had funerals. Lee and Gai attended; they were the only ones at first. Near the end though, as their coffins were lowered, Shino and Kiba appeared by Lee's side. It was raining; suitable weather for a funeral, and the sky was dark and black, matching the current mood in Konoha. The murders in the night were solved, but it was hardly a celebration. No one was saved, and only three lived. Kiba put his hand on Lee's shoulder. He'd lost a team mate too, he knew how it felt. It was harder for Lee, though. To accept his team mates were dead, and murderers, was hard.

Lee was an nineteen year old Jounin now, an adult, and he was about to get his three Genin for the first time. He and Neji and Ten Ten had been talking excitedly about this before everything had happened. Now, it didn't seem like such a fun thing to happen. But life had to go on.

"Kakashi thought it was me, you know," Kiba muttered, in the cold rain. Gai, sensing this was a conversation between that generation, for once politely left without a word, and only looked back once, concerned for Lee. Then he rounded a corner, and was gone. "He talked to me this morning. I don't know what to believe anymore. The Bible, or...or nothing at all. Neji and Ten Ten took everything too far. Lee...I know how it feels to lose a team mate. Me and Shino lost Hinata, after all."

Shino adjusted his glasses and nodded. He spoke in a solemn tone. "We are all getting our Genin tomorrow. We can at least look forward to something. We have to work hard to make sure they are the best generation yet. And we also have to work hard to make sure our generation isn't forgotten."

"Shall we visit our comrades' graves now?" Lee asked quietly. Kiba agreed, and the three of them walked around, looking at the names on the graves that shouldn't have been there for many years to come, but now were, forever. There was a void in everyone's heart, a void only their old friends could fill. Now they had to pretend it wasn't there, and just ignore the pain they felt.

Tsunade drank heavily from her Sake bottle, while Kakashi looked at old photos of Team Seven and Team Kakashi.

_xxx_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_We know you are. Over time, we may forgive you. But for now..."_

"_So is this Heaven?"_

"_If you want to call it that. I don't call it anything."_

"_And we'll be here forever?"_

"_As far as we can tell."_

"_Where's Ten Ten?"_

"_She's over there, in the mist. She just arrived. I think she's crying."_

**Author's Note: _And...it's over!_ _This chapter was a bitch to write. I really don't like how it was written, bah. I hope you all did though. I enjoyed writing this whole thing and it was fun. :D Review please! Thank you to all that have and all that will. Also thanks to those that didn't review (though shame on you!) but did favourite it and alert it and stuff. Review!_**


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